Egypt's vote won't calm turbulent streets

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 file photo, Egyptian Ultras, hard-core soccer fans, chant anti-president Mohammed Morsi slogans while attending a rally in front of the provincial government headquarters, unseen, in Port Said, Egypt. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)
— AP

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 file photo, Egyptian Ultras, hard-core soccer fans, chant anti-president Mohammed Morsi slogans while attending a rally in front of the provincial government headquarters, unseen, in Port Said, Egypt. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)
/ AP

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 file photo, supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi remove tents of opposition protesters outside the presidential palace, in Cairo, Egypt. For most of the 85 years since its inception, the Muslim Brotherhood operated secretively as an outlawed group, working underground and often repressed by governments. But even after its political success since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, the group is still suspected of carrying on secretive operations. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)— AP

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 file photo, supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi remove tents of opposition protesters outside the presidential palace, in Cairo, Egypt. For most of the 85 years since its inception, the Muslim Brotherhood operated secretively as an outlawed group, working underground and often repressed by governments. But even after its political success since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, the group is still suspected of carrying on secretive operations. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
/ AP

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 file photo, former director of the U.N.'s nuclear agency and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei speaks during a news conference following the meeting of the National Salvation Front, Egypt’s main opposition coalition, in Cairo. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. The call for the elections triggered a sharp reaction from the country's reform leader, ElBaradei, who said they would be a “recipe for disaster” given the polarization and the eroding state authority. On Saturday, he dropped a bombshell, calling for a boycott of the vote. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)— AP

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 file photo, former director of the U.N.'s nuclear agency and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei speaks during a news conference following the meeting of the National Salvation Front, Egypt’s main opposition coalition, in Cairo. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. The call for the elections triggered a sharp reaction from the country's reform leader, ElBaradei, who said they would be a “recipe for disaster” given the polarization and the eroding state authority. On Saturday, he dropped a bombshell, calling for a boycott of the vote. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
/ AP

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 file photo, Egyptian protesters chant anti-President Mohammed Morsi slogans and carry posters with pictures of victims of recent violence and their names in Port Said, Egypt. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)— AP

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 file photo, Egyptian protesters chant anti-President Mohammed Morsi slogans and carry posters with pictures of victims of recent violence and their names in Port Said, Egypt. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)
/ AP

FILE - In this July 13, 2012 file photo, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi speaks to reporters at the Presidential palace in Cairo. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)— AP

FILE - In this July 13, 2012 file photo, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi speaks to reporters at the Presidential palace in Cairo. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)
/ AP

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 file photo, Egyptian men inspect posters of slain men with their pictures and Arabic that reads their names, "Ahmed el-Syyed, Mohammed Ali Ibrahim, Islam, Osama el-Sherbiny, Ahmed el-Shahat," at a protest camp in front of the provincial government headquarters, unseen, during the fifth day of a general strike, in Port Said, Egypt. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)— AP

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 file photo, Egyptian men inspect posters of slain men with their pictures and Arabic that reads their names, "Ahmed el-Syyed, Mohammed Ali Ibrahim, Islam, Osama el-Sherbiny, Ahmed el-Shahat," at a protest camp in front of the provincial government headquarters, unseen, during the fifth day of a general strike, in Port Said, Egypt. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)
/ AP

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 file photo, an Egyptian Ultras activist chants anti-President Mohammed Morsi slogans while leading a rally during the fifth day of a general strike, in Port Said, Egypt. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)— AP

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 file photo, an Egyptian Ultras activist chants anti-President Mohammed Morsi slogans while leading a rally during the fifth day of a general strike, in Port Said, Egypt. Egypt's streets have turned into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years. Newly called parliamentary elections hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil and if anything, are likely to just fuel unrest and push it toward economic collapse. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)
/ AP

CAIRO 
Egypt's streets are turning into a daily forum for airing a range of social discontents from labor conditions to fuel shortages and the casualties of myriad clashes over the past two years.

Parliamentary elections called over the weekend by the Islamist president hold out little hope for plucking the country out of the turmoil. If anything, the race is likely to fuel more unrest and push Egypt closer to economic collapse.

"The street has a life of its own and it has little to do with elections. It is about people wanting to make a living or make ends meet," said Emad Gad, a prominent analyst and a former lawmaker.

Islamist President Mohammed Morsi called for parliamentary elections to start in late April and be held over four stages ending in June. He was obliged under the constitution to set the date for the vote by Saturday.

"I see that the climate is very agreeable for an election," Morsi said in a television interview aired early on Monday. He also invited all political forces to a dialogue on Monday to ensure the vote's "transparency and integrity."

Morsi's decree calling for the election brought a sharp reaction from Egypt's key opposition leader, Nobel Peace Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who said they would be a "recipe for disaster" given the polarization of the country and eroding state authority.

On Saturday, ElBaradei dropped a bombshell when he called for a boycott of the vote. An effective boycott by the opposition or widespread fraud would call the election's legitimacy into question.

But in all likelihood, Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and its ultraconservative Salafi allies will fare well in the vote. The Brotherhood has dominated every election in the two years since the 2011 uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The mostly secular and liberal opposition will likely trail as they did in the last election for parliament's lawmaking, lower house in late 2011 and early 2012 - a pattern consistent with every nationwide election post-Mubarak.

President Morsi's Brotherhood-dominated administration has been unable to curb the street protests, strikes and crime that have defined Egypt in the two years since the uprising.

In fact, the unrest has only grown more intense, more effective and has spread around the country in the nearly eight months that Morsi has been in office.

On any given day, a diverse variety of protesters across much of the troubled nation press demands of all sorts or voice opposition to Morsi and the Brotherhood.

Sunday was a case in point.

Thousands of brick workers blocked railroad tracks from a city south of Cairo for a second successive day to protest rising prices of industrial fuel oil, crippling transportation around the country of 85 million.

The rise resulted from the government's decision last week to lift subsidies on some fuel prices. It is part of a reform program aimed at securing a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile there are ample signs that Egypt's economy is deteriorating steadily.